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Yamaha UD Stomp

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Manufacturer URL http://www.yamaha.com/
Ease of Use 7.4 (21 responses)
Sound Quality 9.3 (21 responses)
Reliability 9.4 (20 responses)
Customer Support 8.3 (4 responses)
Overall Rating 9.1 (21 responses)
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Product: Yamaha UD Stomp
Price Paid: USD 345
Submitted 09/12/2008 at 08:58pm by Dr. Dave

Ease of Use : 9
Ok after almost a year I have to weigh in briefly. Easy to use but deep editing of 8 completely awesome delay lines is very intense. The presets are done TOP SHELF mostly by Pat Matheny (sp). Just dial up or down the level of effect and /or direct. Works best in an amp effects loop.
Budda, Boogie, ADA Quad 150M, Fender

Sound Quality : 10
With 8 completely seperate lines some can be chorused, flanged, multi-tapped, Quarter noted, etc...this ability to add further effects to each delay gives truly "other worldly" sounds especially for ambient chordal stuff. Absolutegreat sounds I have never heard anywhere!!
Strong time/delay effects.
Very quiet, super chorus sounds of many types, triangle, square wave. etc. Great Robin Trower/ Vaughn Leslie effects!! There are 'reverb' presets that one would never guess it is all done with 8 separate delays. Having owned an original echo-plex at 15 yrs old and others since I can tell you this is the bomb for me anyway and can give analog sounds or more digital if you prefer.
Giging is great but our music doesn't require this level of sophistication, so I only took it a few times as my pedal board does what I need live. Some of my recordings have truly stunned some top shelf players for originality of sounds. 10 = Pristine sound quality..as good as it gets if you can find one.

Reliability : 10
With Yamaha probably very good! I have a Dg 80 AMP which was one of the absolute best modeling/delay/reverb amps ever made IMUO, with motorized knobs/midi 128 presets. I also have a Yam. Aw4416 recording setup, other effects and Yamaha has always been very dependable.
No problems and I have a lot of hours on it. Look like a Tank it is heavy and fairly large.(line 6 delay size but much much better built..no plastic here.)

Customer Support : No Opinion
No clue, big company. I doubt they are sitting waiting for my call.

Overall Rating : 10
If you want analog/and or digital time based effects, delay, chorus. flange, leslie this one does it all!!!!

Bottom line... after 10 months I am far more impressed than the review below! I would buy another in a second if I could find one. Probably one of the most obscure yet best effects units I have ever owned! Roland, Lexicon,TC G-System, other TC's, Vox, Boss,...you name the processor and I have probably worked with in the studio or owned it.
Read the other reviews because they are why I bought this and I L O V E it!!


Product: Yamaha UD Stomp
Price Paid: UNKNOWN
Submitted 11/08/2007 at 11:18pm by Dr. Dave

Ease of Use : 8
This MONSTER is already programmed..a little tweaking gets any delay and chorus and very convincing 'verb spaciousness"
With 8 lines of delay it could get pretty deep..I have been programing effects since '85..it's just easy to set effect level,
TAP tempo is awesome and the quality of delays runs the gammit..digital to analogue, chorus is very tweakable and sounds great. The manual can intimidate the inexperienced...but just start tweaking and it's all in there!! DEAD QUIET in loop or in front of all my amps.

Sound Quality : 10
This thing is STUNNING. I want to thank the reviewers as I based my ebay purchase on these here on Harm cent.PRS 53 tele my dad bought new
The chorus is as good as it gets, flange, OMG..My dad bought a new echoplex in 65 and I spent the summer with it. I was going to buy the Fulltone plex but this is much better IMUO...one gig so far for slap back, longer delay and chorus was awesome. For me personally I wanted something for home that would go'over the top' in stereo with really spacey georgeous delays and modulation. I mean 8 lines of delay with chorus and flange on some delays has to be heard to be believed. I run it through a Budda and Boogie Rectoverb..Budda has put the Boogie up for sale as well as a few other amps. I have used Lexicon (Lxp5 or 15 would be close), Roland SDE1000 and 3000...many many others..This is as good as any of them and a bargain at any price..329 for mine. Makes Line 6 sound VERY wimpy..H2o as well Rocktron..none of them can touch the mighty UD STOMP!

Reliability : 8
I have a Yanaha DG-80 which is an awesome modeling amp for small gigs.It has held up very well.
I also have other Yamaha stuff AW4416 hard disc recorder..they make great stuff..never had a problem with any of their gear..spx-90 so many other yamaha effects over the years. I have found their gear in general very dependable.

Customer Support : No Opinion
been good in past with questions

Overall Rating : 10
40 years on drums and guitar & recording. I would buy another in a minute when I could find one. It's all I have ever really wanted in delay, and modulation, chorus...very very deep if wanted..
The thing is I have been tweaking delays in guitar rigs and especially studios since '85...this is the one for me as far as guitar. My search for delay and chorus is finally over which is rare for me.
BUY it and you will keep it if deep or shallow delay and chorus is what you want...what else has 8 delays in one unit..multitap, quarter note, half whole, cascading, hi-fi,lo-fi! The night I got it I played for 4 hours!!


Product: Yamaha UD Stomp
Price Paid: wons 28000 USED
Submitted 10/11/2006 at 09:28am by Robben

Ease of Use : 7
Not Easy at first!

But after several hours on tweaking and seeing the manual, its quiet straight forward!


Sound Quality : 10
I am a gear geak, has tons of stomp boxes and rack effects.

Shortly..!

I have owned Boss DM-1, DM-2, DM-3, Visual Sound H2o, Fultone Chorus, Choral Flange, Maxon AD-9, AD-80, G-Major, Boss and Digitech Flangers, Tremolo, even rotary speakers etc for some comparison and UD-Stomp beats all!


Reliability : 10
Metal!

Customer Support : 10
Yamaha supports very well..

Overall Rating : 10
I have beeb playing music for 5years now. Professionally.

I have arranged many tracks and albums as a guitar session, and UD handles all of my rythm/solo works!

As some of the reviewers claimeed, if this unit was over $800 I would purchase it emmidietely!

Its that good!


Product: Yamaha UD Stomp
Price Paid: UNKNOWN
Submitted 10/11/2006 at 08:16am by Matsumoto Tak

Ease of Use : 5
Wow, back up you gear-noobs!
This Yamaha unit is not for Boss users or any of tone-noobs, and metal heads.
You got to look at the manual to use the best of it!
I've used many multi effects and stomp boxes such as, Boss GT-8, Vox Tonelab SE, Digitech GNX-4, Boss DD-3, Fultone Choralflange, TC Electronics Chorus etc..

UD-Stomp is more of rack quality and also its a disaster for guitar kid who really dont know about tweaking and making sounds.

Sound Quality : 10
Let me say, overall its DARN GOOD!
When I fooled around with the presets, it gives me so pretty sounds(mostly for jazz and instrumental music), but I mostly play blues or rock.
But after tweaking the knobs I finally found that this machine is just incredible! It could be used in any stle of music!! Way better than my G-Major, Voodu Valve, DD-3, Line6 DL-4!
For delay alone its top notch! and the chorus is amazing too!
Phasers are even way deeper and shiny and could sound more vintage(?) than the MXR Phase-100.
Reverbs are very nice! Tremolo, and Rotary Speaker emulations are really magnificent!
Flangers are not my category but I think its not bad.

Its not noisy at all!
I use it in the amp's fx chain alone. Its just the way it should be!

Even the presets are just too fine!!!

Reliability : 10
Sturdy as hell!

Yamaha gears are all very dependable.

Switches are everlong!

Customer Support : No Opinion
I havent used is yet

Overall Rating : 10
Just go to the nearby music store.!
Listen to it!
Then buy it!

It is my main rig, I can't even think about giging without it!

If you are looking for a rack-quality pedal, this is it!

for me, if UD-Stomp was over $500 I would still buy it!

No one wont deny that it has better quality than some of the rack-type time-based efffects(G-Major, M one, POD XT Pro, so on..)


Product: Yamaha UD Stomp
Price Paid: 420 (euros)
Submitted 02/10/2006 at 08:11am by Andreas Papadakis
Email: atavachron16<at>hotmail dot com

Ease of Use : 7
At first it may be difficult for you to understand how this unit works,but after reading the manual and doing some "knob moving",things will be clearer in your head.So,give this piece a chance!

Sound Quality : 10
My basic setup consists of a Parker MidiFly guitar,a Yamaha DG-1000 preamp,a Mesa/Boogie V-1 Bottle Rocket overdive pedal,a DMC System Mix dual line mixer,a TC Electronic M-One XL dual effects processor,a UD Stomp delay/modulation unit,a Roland XV-3080 sound module,an Ernie Ball 6167 volume pedal,a Mesa/Boogie 20/20 power amp,and a pair of Carvin VE212 speaker cabinets.

The UD Stomp is a very important part of my rig.It is really a dream unit.Excellent sound quality,countless possibilities,no noise at all.If you don't trust me(which is absolutely normal),just check what Allan Holdsworth-the master of tone- says about it.It has 8 different bands of delay,so it's like having 8 different delay processors in one box.In addition,by moving the "SPEED","DEPTH" and "PAN" knobs,you can add a modulation effect to your sound,such as chorus or flanger.The control knobs are very responsive(sorry if that isn't the right word-you see,my English isn't the best),which means that any small change can make a huge difference in the sound.Another great thing is that,unlike most of the other effect processors of the market,the presets are very useful(the first 27 are personally adjusted by Allan Holdsworth).

Reliability : 10
It's one of those machines that won't ever disappoint you.Well-built and extremely dependable.

Customer Support : No Opinion
I've never dealt with the Yamaha distributors in Greece.

Overall Rating : 10
As you probably understood,this is one of my favorite pieces of equipment.It works well together with the other parts of my gear and helps me a lot in the eternal search for the ultimate tone(I just wish my fingers helped me more,too).I personally like jazz fusion(Allan Holdsworth,Tribal Tech) and the UD Stomp is certainly a great match.Basically,I think it is a great match for any guitar player and also for any style of music.Comparing to other delay units,I think is far superior.Even if someone offered me a costly studio effects processor(such as Eventide Eclipse,Lexicon PCM-81,TC Electronic 2290 etc.) for a trade,I'd say no.The UD Stomp is a "top priority" piece of gear for me.


Product: Yamaha UD Stomp
Price Paid: US $300
Submitted 08/07/2005 at 04:23pm by Guilherme Kikuchi
Email: japakikuchi at gmail<dot>com

Ease of Use : 7
Pra quem nao tem paciencia de ficar lendo esses reviews ai em ingles galera...

Nao eh muito facil de usar nao. Exige paciencia e leitura do manual e ainda assim eh complicadinho.

Ele possui 8 circuitos de delay, mas soh se usa todos se for muito complexo o som q vc quiser tirar

Sound Quality : 10
Timbres otimos. Soh depende de saber programar

Reliability : No Opinion
Pode confiar nesse pedal ai q ele nao vai te deixar na mao no que diz respeito a deley, chorus e flanger.

Customer Support : No Opinion

Overall Rating : 7
Seguinte... Se vc toca metal esse nao eh o pedal mais aconselhavel, pois existem pedais mais simples mais baratos q fazem o q vc precisa.

Agora... se vc curte um som mais elaborado no que diz respeito a timbres e efeitos essa eh uma boa aquisi??o


Product: Yamaha UD Stomp
Price Paid: US $250
Submitted 10/30/2004 at 01:47pm by Henry Friedman
Email: friedmaH at ATT<dot>NET

Ease of Use : 5
I have owned this unit for approximately 1Y and still occasionally bring up the courage to try to understand how it works.
Using the presets is rather easy.

Sound Quality : 10
A person with my level of intellegence should not expect to ever understand how this unit functions or how to adjust my own sounds. That being said, I lover many of the preset sounds. Folks, you need to either listen with head phones directly out of the unit, or invest in first quality cables and monitor speakers to understand the complexity and beauty which this unit is capable of creating.

Reliability : 10
No problems.

Customer Support : No Opinion
Difficult to reach a human being, but possible to reach a human being. I found Y personnel helpful with questions about other products. I have not had to call them about this product.

Overall Rating : 10
I wish I could understand how this unit works some day. Given the manual, layout of the knobs and bottons, and my ever increasing age with cognitive loss, the inner secrets of this unit will probably die with the unit.
I also question the design decision to put a battery in this unit for which I need to return the unit to Yamaha to replace!
That being said, this sound juncky is thrilled by many preset sounds in this unit.


Product: Yamaha UD Stomp
Price Paid: 149 (UKP)
Submitted 09/21/2004 at 04:32pm by icarusi

Ease of Use : 7
Not too bad if you've already used a DG Stomp. Doesn't switch on to the last patch used which IIRC the DG does and is useful.

Sound Quality : 8
I don't have anything to compare it to, but it sounds good to me

Reliability : 10
I'd guess from Yamaha it should be good, and it's in the same casing as the DG. They do run quite hot though. I have my DG in the top of a rack where it does get even hotter.

Customer Support : 8
I'll just guess it would be fine here

Overall Rating : 8
AFAICS this is a unique pedal and bought on that principle. If anyone knows of a unit with more, or equivalent, flexibility in delay and chorusing features, I'd be interested to check it out too. I'm a little disappointed that some of the complex rhythmical delays don't 'play' as well as you'd expect them to. I will probably need to learn how to 'play' the guitar/pedal combination better to get the best out of it on that score. So more like a guitar-synth or wah in that regard.


Product: Yamaha UD Stomp
Price Paid: 300 (#)
Submitted 06/29/2004 at 09:21am by Anonymous

Ease of Use : 3
Many button presses, secret codes and handshakes to get it working. Worst feature of the unitstill, worth putting up with(read below) .once you master this section youll be fine.

It has 8 delay bands which you can edit, and Yamaha have nicely put in a copying and paste feature which is good. You NEED a manual which you can get from the UD stomp group or download from Yamaha.

Sound Quality : 9
Sounds is pristine. Absolutely lovely and clean. Maybe a little too clean, but it?s easier to dirty something up than make something low-fi, hi-fi. No noise, using it with other effects. ? It has a S/PDIF digital output, which is great for recording. Using a Vox valvetronix and this thing helps my guitar shine though. Very deep modulation (8 effect bands!) all syncable. This was delopled by delay guru Allan Holdsworth who programmed 15 of the patches himself. 32 bit processing, lots of power, one heck of a delay. Along with this power though comes the bloody programming, but it?s the best karate out there. Tri waveform, effect level/dry balance, etc. Not as warm as my Korg SDD, but this is reliable (midi?floor unit, whoo!) The crazy effects are great. Note though, im a delay freak who loves delay units. If you?re a metal freak stay away, this is way to complex. Stereo, splitting of dry signal and effect level though the L/R outputs?great.

Reliability : 8
Dependable. People say never gig without a backup, but then again, how far does this go? Bring a rodie with a duplicate set up in case you break a nail? This thing is built like a tank and sure it can take some abuse, so im sure it would be fine.

Customer Support : No Opinion
Generally Yamaha are good?though I have had some problems with other Yamaha gear and Yamaha have been crap?.goes for every big company though who make so much money, they don?t care about a few customers problems?.

Overall Rating : 9
I play with delay as my main effect, and this is great. Ill be honest, - Ive only had the unit for a couple of hours, so Ill update if need be, but Im over the moon at the moment. If anyone has a spare for sale, contact me!

>If it were stolen or lost, would you buy it again or get something else?

I want another already, seriously.

>what do you love about it? What do you hate? What is your favorite feature?

The possibilities are endlessthis thing can do it all plus some. Dam programming.a bigger screen and my biggest gripe is not having programmable names. This is esp hard with delay units as unless youre a walking metronome, theres no way to tell what patch is what.

>Did you compare it to other products? Which ones? Why did you choose this one?

Features, possibilities, and personally I love delay as an effect, so I choose this. May not be for you if you want one simple delay in a rack or pedal, as this has 8 of them.

>Anything you wish it had?

Bigger screen with character input.

>Does it help you make music, or does it get in the way?

Both! Can be inspired by crazy patches, but can get distracted whilst playing with parameters.

>Anything else you'd like to share?

Harmony-central is great, isnt it? What else.ummm, a rack version would be great, but Yamaha discontinued this product already. Seems like there is no money in companies creating effects these days as its all crappy software. This is aimed at guitarist (as of the foot switches) but im sure if another company released something based on this delay, they could only improve and Id probably buy that. Thing is, will a company do that with a dedicated processor?...esp for delay?? Probably not.


Product: Yamaha UD Stomp
Price Paid: US $325
Submitted 05/31/2004 at 10:39am by Leon Goodenough
Email: yumchild at yahoo<dot>com

Ease of Use : 7
Its easy to use the presets. Beyond that you need to learn the logic, memorizing several button push sequences and combinations. Anybody can learn it, but it requires reading through the manual more than twice to remember everything.

Sound Quality : 5
LP Special > ToneKing Meteor 40A. Generally the UD sounds pretty decent. It uses a buffer, which I'm not opposed to if it sounds good, instead of true bypass. Even with the effect completely bypassed the master volume is active. I notice an obvious 'smoothness on the top' kind of coloration to the tone when the UD is in the signal path.

I love the modulation - you can apply it to long delays, change the wave form, get some very whack sounds! High pass / low pass filters are cool, but not as drasticly lo-fi as I would have enabled them to be. I also really wanted the real time 'out of control' regeneration / feedback type stuff you can do with some other delays, but as with most modern digital pedals, it automatically prevents - resets the delay time - as you control it in realtime. This was my biggest dissapointment.

Reliability : 10
It's very solid. I wouldn't question its reliability.

Customer Support : No Opinion
Never dealt with Yamaha directly. Never needed to.

Overall Rating : 8
I play rock and experimental. This pedal is a little more geared to prog than experimental styles as it has some limititations (assumably for quality assurance) that some experimental folks won't appreciate. However it does have more than enough whack-friendly possibilities to keep me interested for quite a while. Certainly does an amazing lush chorus, unfortunately I don't use that sound very often.


Product: Yamaha UD Stomp
Price Paid: US $235 used
Submitted 05/30/2004 at 07:59pm by David
Email: david<at>leftofheaven dot com

Ease of Use : 9
Once you read the manual (about 22 pages) it?s not hard to program this unit at all if you understand what the parameters are in the first place. The unit has 8 effects ?bands?. Each band is a delay with just under 700ms of delay. Bands can be joined in any combination for increased delay times (up to about 5.5 seconds with all 8 together), and/or run in different combinations of series and/or parallel configurations. Whatever you can think up for a configuration, the UD can create. Each band has a dedicated knob for the following parameters: tap, modulation speed, modulation depth, pan, level, coarse time, fine time, low cut filter, high cut filter, feedback. In addition, each preset has a master effects volume, a master dry volume, a dry panning position, +/- phase, and 3 modulation types. With all of these parameters you can create a huge variety of different sounding delays, chorus, flange, and some other similar effects, as well as create multi effect presets. For example, stereo delay followed by chorus, or flange followed by flange followed by 4 tap delay, or even chorus, flanger and delay all running in parallel, so none effect the other. There is lots of processing power and potential here. Probably more than 99% of any other pedal out there, other than dedicated multi effects units, and this unit sounds WAY better than then most current multi effects units. The unit has mono in w/switchable level, stereo out, has a jack for an expression controller (control 1 parameter per controller, 8 total per patch), headphones out, and digital audio out. The unit has tap tempo ability, and 90 factory/90 user preset spots. Once you program 2 or 3 presets, you?re pretty much ready to program whatever comes to mind. If you want to use the unit for basic delays and chorus it?ll do it without a problem. But if/when you get into the unit and tap into the full potential the UD offers, it WILL reward you with some fantastic sounds. Yes, it?s harder to use than a 3 knob delay pedal, but considering the diversity of the UD as well as the sound quality, it?s very easy to use. -1 point for lack of an LCD screen. At this price, it?s hard to complain.

Sound Quality : 9
Absolutely clean and smooth sound. As good as many rack units I?ve used and/or heard in the past. I use it in the loop of my Marshall DSL100 head, and then run the second output to the loop return on a Laney GH100L head for stereo effects. Each head goes through it?s own 4X12. My current signal chain is:
Fender Strat > Teese RMC3 wah > VoodooLab OD, TS808, or FullDriveII > MXR phase 90 > Marshall DSL100. Loop send of the Marshall > Line6 DL4 > UD stomp > Loop return of DSL (L) /Loop return of GH100L (R).
The delays on the UD sound terrific. There is a lot of variety with the sounds of the delay: multitaps, panning, analog sounds (I did an online test and about 70% of the people guessed the UD was the analog compared to an Ibanez AD9!). The modulation effects are very rich and vary from extremely subtle to big and in your face. As has been said, the choruses on the UD are first rate. I haven?t used chorus for over 15 years, but now I am using it (sparingly) because the chorus on the UD doesn?t sound like a gimmick. It enhances the sound. I use it on clean tones, and the sounds are sweetened just right. Fantastic! You can even pan the dry sound, so if you?re running stereo and want dry out of one side and delay out the other you can do that. Turn the delay off, and your dry sound is now back in both sides. The unit also has the ability to let the delays trail off after you shut off the effect or you can stop the effect immediately, and you can choose which one you want on the fly. Any background noise is not noticable. I?ve owned rack gear that doesn?t have the parameters or the sound quality that this unit has. Are there better delays? Of course! But not in a pedal and not for under the $1,000 mark. Being critical, I will fault the unit by 1 point for not being able to enter into self oscilation, which is why I?m also using my DL4 with the UD. This is a fairly minor detail to me in most cases.

Reliability : 9
I haven?t had the UD for too long, but no problems so far. It?s housed in a heavy steel casing, metal switches, knobs feel smooth. It looks like it will last for quite a while. They call it a UD ?STOMP? so they know it?s going to get stepped on? so they built it to endure for that application. I don?t suspect any problems. -1 for external power supply/wall wart.

Customer Support : No Opinion

Overall Rating : 9
I?m giving this unit a 9, although in many ways I feel like it deserves a 10. I am being very critical of the unit, and really looking for flaws/weaknesses, otherwise I would have given it a 10. I just hate giving 10?s unless the unit is 100% perfect, and what is? Yamaha's quality is top notch, both in physical construction and in sound quality. This unit is the first and only unit that has allowed me to use all pedal effects and not feel like I am skimping on features or sound. I mostly play rock music influenced by Pink Floyd, Alice in Chains, Opeth, U2, The Black Crowes, Mad Season, and Jimi Hendrix. Every now and then, I also play some hard rock/metal, blues, and even some new age/jazzy type stuff. For my spacier music, I use delay quite often. Before the UD I was using two or three rack units, a line mixer and a Furman power conditioner in a 5 space rack in addition to my pedalboard. Now the UD (along with the DL4, each with it?s own expression controller) allows me to leave the rack behind for the first time in 15+ years! I don?t know of any other delay pedal that would allow me to do that. I?ve created some very unique sounds with the UD that help me create music. I even created a nice, smooth, linear volume pedal preset. Use your imagination with this unit and you will be rewarded. If this unit were stolen, I would absolutely by one again ASAP. I?m considering getting a backup now, just in case. Another post below states ?not everyone "gets it". This pedal is for those who "get it". Amazing.? Well, I?m very glad I got it, I get it, and I agree. Amazing. Why Yamaha stopped making these I?ll never know.


Product: Yamaha UD Stomp
Price Paid: N/A
Submitted 01/20/2004 at 04:05pm by Anonymous

Ease of Use : 7
See the other reviews for the huge feature list. Essentially 8 programmable modulation delays and a looper in a floor unit - but that description barely scratches the surface.

There seems to be a fair amount of consternation regarding editing/programming this unit. It does take a little effort to get your head around, but it isn't too hard. This unit is so powerful and feature-packed that time spent learning how to use it to its full potential is well worth it.

Sound Quality : 10
Fantastic. And at the blow-out price, incredible!

Tom Anderson Pro Am > Keeley BD-2 > Keeley SD-1 > UD Stomp > Mesa Rocket 440. All George L's cable.

The delays are very clean and sound great. The high/low cut filters can make them sound more analog if that's what you want... plus you can create doppler effects, modulate the repeats to make them a little wonky and out of tune, speed up each repeat slightly... there's a whole range of tape flavours here alone! Because each delay band can be set to different times/repeats, you can create rhythmically complex echoes. Chain the bands together and you get 6 seconds of delay or loop time, which is enough for most people.

The chorus is fantastic too. I agree with others below and prefer it over the TC, Fulltone and Boss Dimension. It's that good. And it doesn't swirl in the background (yay!). Plus you can have 8 choruses at once (ala Holdsworth), combine multiple chorus/delay bands, achieve rotary speaker effects, flanging etc. Listen to the presets to hear what the unit can accomplish.

Reliability : 9
Yamaha gear is generally very high quality, and this is no exception. Sturdy metal casing, metal jacks, solid footswitches etc. Don't forsee any problems here.

Customer Support : No Opinion

Overall Rating : 10
How can I not give it a 10?!? I bought this pedal because of Holdsworth's input, Yamaha's quality and the sheer uniqueness of it. I wasn't seeking to replicate Holdsworth's (or anyone else's) sounds, although I've been a fan of his music for years.

I can see how this pedal may come across as a "showroom nightmare" - it's hard for potential customers to get much out of it from a quick demo. You really have to read the manual and experiment with the unit to begin uncovering it's secrets. I think it's like most things Holdsworth has been involved with - high quality, unique, very select appeal and not everyone "gets it".

This pedal is for those who "get it". Amazing. Thank you Allan and Yamaha! Now please don't discontinue it!!!!


Product: Yamaha UD Stomp
Price Paid: US $200
Submitted 01/19/2004 at 05:20am by Andi Allan

Ease of Use : 7
Only 7? Yup. Given the power of the unit the interface is pretty good, but it has to be said that the UD-Stomp is an awful lot more complicated than your average delay pedal. It's pretty much the first unit I've owned where I had to read the manual before I could get started on editing.

A couple of minor drawbacks; there's no easy way to see what values the various parameters are set to. You have to twiddle the relevant knob, at which point it'll tell you. Changing group or bank is also a little involved; you hold footswitch 4 for a second or so, then either tap 1-3 for that group, or hold 2 or 3 for a second to change bank up or down. It's possibly a little awkward for live use, but sensible patch arrangements would make this easier. A jack for a bank up/down footswitch would have been a great idea...

Once you've gotten the hang of the programming it's actually pretty straightforward, and the hardest thing is then working out exactly how to use the huge power that's in the UD Stomp. This is one unit, though, that really, really needs a PC-based editor. Programming through the knobs and buttons on the front panel is like painting your house through the letterbox.

Sound Quality : 10
Perfect. Most of the presets are predictably dull, but there are some real gems in there - the fake volume swells, the "scratch" sound, the rotary sim. Incredible range of sounds you can get from the unit.

Rest of my setup: Roland VG-88 (for amp sims and all effects apart from delay), Ibanez Talman and MMM1 baritone. Amp-wise I use a Sirocco Crossfire 4.1 amp and sub with 4 Boston Acoustics CR6 monitors, or a Fender Sunn PA when I need more volume.

Background noise is very low - lower than from the amp until you crank the UD output level right up to full, and even then it's barely audible.

The choruses vary from light & subtle to incredibly thick. The delays go from perfect replications of what you played to almost grungy analog-like echoes. The flangers aren't the greatest I've heard, but I think a bit of tweaking and experimentation will rectify that.

The sheer flexibility is astounding. You can cascade combinations of the 8 delays in series or parallel, in or out of phase, modulated or not. You can sync the modulations, you can group delays together for longer echoes, you can pan each delay (and the dry signal) separately. Each delay has a low and hi cut filter. Pretty much anything you can think of, you can do...

Reliability : 10
Seems very robust; good solid metal chassis, chunky footswitches, metal jacks attached to the chassis. I'd be more than happy to gig with it.

Customer Support : No Opinion
I've never had to deal with Yamaha; their kit is very solid and reliable in my experience.

Overall Rating : 10
I play space-pop. I think. In any case, the UD should work well for anyone playing any style - provided they can cope with the complexity. If I lost it I'd certainly try to get hold of another, but I suspect they're not going to be flooding the secondhand market.

The weakest point is the complexity - but that's also the strongest point. If Yamaha had bundled a PC editor all would be Good and Round; as it is, programming does take a bit of effort - especially remembering what the first band is set to by the time you're onto th eigth. In any case, the power of the unit makes up for the slight added difficulty in programming it.

The only additions I'd like the UD to have had are stereo inputs and a jack for an extra footswitch for changing group or bank. Neither is a major omission to be honest.

The UD would have been good value at full price; at the $200 blowout price it's almost silly. I think it's destined to be a classic, though it's a real shame that it didn't take off as it deserved.


Product: Yamaha UD Stomp
Price Paid: US $199.99
Submitted 01/09/2004 at 04:53pm by Anonymous

Ease of Use : 10
I had no problem figuring out how to program this unit. I read the manual, connected it up, followed the examples in the manual, and within an hour os so was playing around with making patches.

Sound Quality : 10
I have played around with most of the included patches and several of my own and found that the sound is very good. The unit is quiet and makes crystal-clear delays.

Reliability : 9
I have only had the thing for a few days. The case and switches are very solid.

Customer Support : No Opinion
Yamaha company has an excellent reputation. I am leaving this rating number blank, however, since I have never dealt with Yamaha company.

Overall Rating : 10
This unit is amazing for the price I paid. It is like having eight programmable delay and modulation pedals in one box.


Product: Yamaha UD Stomp
Price Paid: US $199.99
Submitted 01/06/2004 at 10:49pm by JMR

Ease of Use : 10
Praise Allan Holdsworth and Yamaha on this one. Turn it on, plug in, and jam! Everything is self explanitory except for the MIDI stuff.

Sound Quality : 10
My setup consists os a Warrior Isabella, Budda Wah, Barber Burn Unit overdrive, Eventide H3000 D/SE, Lexicon MPX1 into a Framus Dragon Amp. This is a modulation delay pedal, which means its choruses are made from 8 separate delay lines. It is the best chorus I've heard in a long time. I personally like it more than the TC. The delays are phenomonal. You can gang them together to make almost 6000ms. There is zero hiss from this unit. A lot of chorus pedals make that swirling hiss. This is essentially Allan Holdsworths Delay rig; in a pedal.

Reliability : 10
I believe this pedal would survive a riot.

Customer Support : 10
The cool thing about Yamaha is that they stand behind everything they do. I have no worries about this unit and future Yamaha purchases.

Overall Rating : 10
I play just about every style of music. I have been playing around 17 years. If it were stolen/lost, I would most definitely buy it again. I highly recommend this to anyone who wants a killer chorus/delay unit that is virtually indestructable


Product: Yamaha UD Stomp
Price Paid: US $199.99
Submitted 12/29/2003 at 09:53am by NineFingeredNate

Ease of Use : 10
The morons below me gave this pedal less than
10 because, well, they're morons.
Is it easy to use? Go find another pedal
that does what this does and show me how it is easier.
It's half or three-quarters a studio setup in
a stompbox, fortheluvva ... Arghh. They're morons, ok?

Sound Quality : 10
This is the part that kills me. Go look at that
pinhead review below me. He gives it
an 8, then the first thing he says is "The sounds
are awesome". Unbelievable.
If there is a pedal on this board that gets a
"10", then this one should too. I think part
of the problem is that people play a pedal like this
through their wretched "Pure Tone!" guitar amplifiers,
and then get the idea that it is the pedal that sounds bad.
There aren't any other pedals that sound better than this one.
There's no "mid loss" or whatever some pea-head said below.

Reliability : 9
I haven't the faintest idea. It seems to be fairly rugged.
Here. I'll give it a "9" so I can pretend that I'm
"objective" like the high school dropouts that have
previously reviewed this pedal.

Customer Support : No Opinion
I've never dealt with Yamaha.

Overall Rating : 10
For what I paid, this pedal is unbelievably fine
(And if I had paid the 350 bucks or whatever
it was going for before, I'd have to say the same thing).


Product: Yamaha UD Stomp
Price Paid: US $239.00 close out
Submitted 12/12/2003 at 04:31pm by Chris

Ease of Use : 7
This thing is fairly easy to ues right out of the box.It has veary good sounding delays and choruses the flanges take a little twiking but once you get their there are the best around.
Editing patches are a little confusing at first but once you get the hang of it it's very easy. where some people may get lost is the fact that there are so many possibilitys, in that it's easy to get lost in what you are doing, even in just 1 patch so you have to concentrate on what you are doing.The manual is ok,not very hard to understand.

Sound Quality : 8
Sounds are awesome, the delays, chorus and flange are top notch the attempt at the tremolo is marginal at best. Most of the presets are good unless you are running stereo then their great but I'm not so it renders a lot of the presets unuseable for me.It seemes to be quiet for the most part, I run it in the effects loop in my Marshall TSL 100 no problems their.

Reliability : 9
Built like a tank and heavy to, the knobs and buttons appear to be of good quility and the case is made of metal - Definitely stomping worthy. I have owned this unit fore over a year now with no problems.

Customer Support : No Opinion
Never had to deal with them.

Overall Rating : 9
This is a good unit for the money and I would gig without a backup, but some may have an issue with the amount of space that it takes on a floor bord, if that is what you are using for effects. I have thought about selling it in favor of a TC Electronic G Major but the thought of having to deal with putting a rack under or along side of my half stack and having to program a midi pedal to run it doesen't float my boat. My rig consists of Schecter C1+ > Digi tech WH1 > Morley Bad horse > Morley Little Aglligator > Boss floor tuner > Marshall JCM TSL 100 > Yamaha UD Stomp > effects loop > 1960AX Cab with the greenbacks - THICK AND RAW Yee Haaa.I have been playing for 30 years on and off and have been through my fair share of stuff and this unit is a good add to ones effects line up .... if you have the room.


Product: Yamaha UD Stomp
Price Paid: US $349.00
Submitted 11/24/2003 at 09:38am by Anonymous

Ease of Use : 5
WHOA,BACK UP, THIS IS GEAR FOR EXPERTS AND GEARHEADS!! CAUTION, HEADACHES AHEAD!
I was able to figure out how to use all the presets, and there are many, without too much trouble, but I had to use the 2 sided foldout patch sheet to refer to constantly. The manual is not to bad, but pretty complicated to just turn this thing on and go. You have to read how to use the footswitches to be able to change patches. I never could figure out how to make the expression pedal work like I wanted (or at all).
This is an awesome pedal and tool, but it is just WAY over my head and needs. I have played guitar for over 30 years, played in many bands, am semi-professional now, play in church, have lots of different effects pedals, equipment and guitars, I have a home recording studio that is Roland 2480 based, but this pedal is just too much trouble. I can program all the stuff in my house and consider myself pretty computer literate, etc, but on stage, I need something I can get to good sound on with ease. THIS IS NOT IT!!
I bought this for live use, with a little studio time also, but I like to play, not program.
I don't use a lot of delay either, just wanted to be able to get to some echos every once and a while. I was hoping for a substitute for my original Echoplex which is the closet, but not here!

Sound Quality : 9
Sound quality of all the patches is great. The chorus' and flanges are really awsome, the rotary sounds are great, I love the sounds! I really wanted to be able to use this thing, but having spent numerous hours and trying to use it at gigs, I give up. I will return it to Musician's Friend and likely get a Line 6 delay modeler, which I know does not sound as good, but at least I won't spend hours trying to figure it out!!!!

Reliability : 8
This pedal is very heavy (another detriment - won't fit on my SKB pedalboard) and I am sure it is very dependable. Yamaha stuff is great.

Customer Support : No Opinion
Never called, if I have to call them to figure out how to use it...

Overall Rating : 5
I play mostly rock from the 60's to current in my club band, and in church a wide range of contemporary Christian music. I use Marshall for clubs, etc, and a Mesa Boogie at church. Guitars are PRS Custom 24, Les Paul, Rickenbacker 1997 and American Stand. Deluxe Strat.


Product: Yamaha UD Stomp
Price Paid: US $349 used
Submitted 02/04/2003 at 02:34pm by Jason
Email: echoes at texas<dot>net

Ease of Use : 8
OK first off, this is more than your average delay "pedal". It has 8 count em 8 individual "channels" of delays per patch. That means that you can have up to 8 different delays/choruses/flanges per patch. That means that you have 8 fully configurable delays, each with their own speed, feedback, low cut, hi cut, etc. per patch. It takes some getting used to and some knowledge of delays in general to get good at programming this thing, but there are also some great built-in patches to start with. Nice to be able to swap patches with your feet too. Very handy. I had the Line 6 DL-4, which is nice too, but you could only save 3 patches! This thing holds 90! The manual is pretty good, and it comes with a big patch reference sheet that shows you every patch that comes on the box along with the breakdown of delays for that patch. Very nice indeed.

Sound Quality : 10
This is where this unit really shines. Wow! It's like having multiple rack units all in one pedal. Because it has the 8 channels of delay, you can make your own true chorusing and flanging using delay speeds and such. I want to make sure everyone understands, this thing is can do multiple delays and choruses all in one patch! I chunked all my chorus and delay pedals after I got this one. I can't tell you how clean and professional this thing sounds. The sound is just so strong and powerful. I play in a Pink Floyd tribute band and let me tell you, I have a much easier time doing it thanks to the UD. I can go from Shine On You Crazy Diamond shimmering chorus and long delay to the multi-tap frenzy of Run Like Hell in one step. This thing is simply the most professional sounding unit around. Crystal clear choruses (think TC Electronic). This is because again it's a true chorus using very short delay speed. I play this thing with my G&L S-500 guitar with the David Gilmour EMG pickups in it. My amp is a '68 Twin Reverb, and let me tell you the UD shines through it! If you have a nice clean sound on your amp, the UD will really show it and create studio-quality chorusing and delay. There is even a +4/-10 DB switch on the output so you can set how hot of a signal you want going out to your amp, as well as a master volume knob.

Reliability : 10
Very heavy and nicely built. Haven't had any problems with it so far. Hopefully I won't because I'm spoiled now and I don't know if I could go back to my old set up. Hehe...

Customer Support : No Opinion
Never dealt with them.

Overall Rating : 10
This thing matches my guitar and amp beautifully. I will say that you do have to tailor this unit to your guitar and output. Because when I hook up my Les Paul (obviously quite a bit hotter), I have to back off the FX level a decent amount. But you have 90 patches with which to do that! Again I had the Line 6 DL-4, which is pretty nice too, but this thing is in a class of its own. I love the sound and tone most of all, the only somewhat difficult thing is the programming. It just takes a while, but don't give up, you can achieve some fantastic sounds. It can inspire some very interesting song tone ideas as well with all of the sounds it can make. Hope this was helpful!


Product: Yamaha UD Stomp
Price Paid: 499 (Euro)
Submitted 05/28/2002 at 03:22pm by Martin
Email: Pohon-Kelapa at t-online<dot>de

Ease of Use : 10
The UD is in my opinion really easy to use.I would give a 10,but I
also know,that a lot of people will have trouble with the interface.
I am an old crack and programmed DX and VZ synths with a rudimetary
interface,with much more functions.So the UD is for me a friendly
tool.On little space there is done a lot for the ergonomic to
support all of its functions.
This stompbox offers a lot.And I hear the guys screaming,please
transfer it to a rackunit.
I like this stomboxes,because it frees me from my rackfrige...

The manual tells all necessary things,but not more.But someone
who chosses this tool has already experience with similiar devices,
so there is no need for a manual wich explains all in detail.
Editing patches needs a clear brain.You have to arrange a small
orchestra of delays.Trace it as an eight musican combo.
For me this device gets a ten,but for others I would recommend a 7.



Sound Quality : 9
The sound quality is excellent for a digital device.Very warm and
fine.But it makes a very,very little noise.But this is acceptable.

The effects are amazing and is really an ear opener.It can be eight
Chorus at once,it can be eight flangers at once,it can be a mixture
of delay,chorus and so on.And always keep in mind,there are eight at
the same time.You it serial or paralell.Use it as Looper.
This tool is amazing.






Reliability : 10
Indestructable by normal or heavy use.

Customer Support : No Opinion
Yamaha has usually a good service.

Overall Rating : 9
The UD is great.A very fine tool for delay and modulation freaks.
Not a tool for everyone.This one is for specialists.
This machine could have been great for me.What I miss,is more Delay
time.696 ms per Module is for me at least not enough.It could have
been more.When I trace the Boss RC20 with a maximum of 5 minutes(by
a lower quality),Yamaha could have given the UD more delay.
What about 2 seconds per module ? Then in Loopmode we would have 16
seconds.Half a minute wouldn't be also not bad.32 seconds in Loopmode
and 4 seconds for each module.This should have been possible.
But I know also,then they had to install a LCD to manage it all and this would have raised up the price.

There are many things,wich I could complaint now.But overall seen,this
stompbox is fascinating.A wide field for creating marvelous sounds.
And all in one box!!! Who needs a Delay Modeller from Line,if he can
get the UD ?
A UD Upgrade could have maybe longer delaytimes,reverse delays,and
maybe an EG per Module,wich has eight steps and controls the Amplitude
of the delays.

Just dreaming.......

So as it is,the UD is OK,an inspiring tool.And with a wide range for
hidden sounds.....Paradise for delay freaks.



Product: Yamaha UD Stomp
Price Paid: US $399
Submitted 05/03/2002 at 12:03pm by estring
Email: estring at nc<dot>rr<dot>com

Ease of Use : 7
What you have here is 8 delays with modulation options. Its all
built in a stomp-box format with 3 effect patchs available by footswitch at any one time. The delays can be configured for parallel
or serial connections. There are groups and banks of user and preset
patchs, but it is hard to change banks on the fly. There are absolutely no drop-outs when changing patches. The manual is sketchy
at best, but it does cover most options. Editing is kind of confusing
at first, but once you get the hang of it, it becomes second nature.
Select a delay, twist the knobs to your content (the knobs flash till
you hit the current setting programmed, then they allow changes to be
initiated). You can do this for all 8 delays. All delays can be modulated with a couple of different waveforms, allowing chorus and
flange effects. Get your sound, hit store and its there when you need it. Its strictly a number based display - no names for patchs. So, you need a good memory or cheat sheet. It has midi options and ins
and outs which I dont use. I really like having real knobs to twist.
Its nice for a change. Certain knobs are always available for tweaking
and there is one large chicken-head knob that can be assigned to control any user-selectable parameter in real-time. It may be a little
uncomfortable if you have no experience programming digital effects.

Sound Quality : 8
I have used it with a Peavey Ultra combo and a Peavey TripleXXX
half-stack. I have ran several guitars thru it, including a PRS, Hamer, and Gibson. I have used it only in the effects loop. You have
a switch for input level for high and low. It is very quiet. It seems
to be very warm sounding for a digital unit. I was surprised. Sounds
very similar to my Chandler Echo. There seems to be a slight low mid
frequency loss compared to my TC Electronics G-Major. But, I actually
believe the Yamaha is more true sounding comparing it to the direct guitar sound. I think the effects sound great, and have replaced my
rack setup with just this stomp-box. I like the chorus sounds a lot
as they are based on true delay modulation. Delays sound very good
and have high and low cut settings available. Lots of options to explore. I have had it over a month now and spent a lot of time
tweaking it in live band situations. I am pleased with the results.

Reliability : 8
This thing is built like a tank. Seems very reliable so far. It
will probably take up a little more real estate on a pedal board
than most people would like. I like the switches. They seem to be
very high quality and are along the lines of momemtary types. It
gets very hot and runs off a wal-wart. I protect it in a home-made
box with the power supply stored underneath and the cords covered
by a shelf to keep big feet from breaking the cords and input-output
jacks. I cant believe how bandmates feet always find their way to
land right on your floor unit. Its secured by velcro and cable ties.
There is no battery option to power this unit. Always carry backups.

Customer Support : 5
Never dealt with Yamaha. A friend had good support trying to
learn a new Yamaha mixer he had bought. They were helpful on the
phone according to him.

Overall Rating : 8
I like this thing a lot. I play in a cover band that does
a lot of classic rock and we play a lot of RUSH cover material.
Been playing 25 years and traveled alot. Sure wish I had this back
then. Its nice and compact, no patch drop-outs, and gives me the
effects I use most - delay,chorus, and flange. I have a nice collection of effects processors - around 12 or so. I have been through about 25 of them. This is what I have always wanted - a box
with high quality chorus and delay that sits on the floor. No midi
pedals or mixers needed. I would buy another right away if something
happened to it. Battery power would have been a nice option, but I never use batteries as I usually secure my pedals to a board.

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